How Your Medicals Are Paid For After A Car Accident
The typical medical bill payment scenario might look like this after a car accident:
- You receive necessary medical care for your car accident injuries .
- If you’re using your health insurance at this stage, the same procedure applies as with any other kind of medical care you receive under your plan. That includes paying any applicable deductible or co-pay as required under the terms of your health coverage.
- If you’re using car insurance to pay your medical bills as they come in, follow the insurance company’s claim submission process, which is often available online. Get tips onmaking a PIP or MedPay claim after a car accident.
- If you’re not at fault for the car accident, the different insurance companies involved will probably work behind the scenes to figure out who will ultimately absorb financial responsibility for your medical bills.
- Remember, if you’re making a car accident claim, you can usually recover some or all of any deductible or co-pay as part of anycar accident settlementagreement.
Getting The Best Deal Requires Strategy And Coordination
Keep in mind that when you do settle with the other driverâs insurance company, you may need to use a portion of that settlement money to reimburse your health insurance, Medicare, or other people who have treated you and not been paid.
Depending on the reimbursement rate and right to be reimbursed, the amount of a settlement you put in your pocket can be significantly affected by which bills you pay first, which bills you submit to health insurance or Med Pay, and which bills can wait until settlement. This involves strategy and careful negotiations with providers and health insurance companies. With over 60 years of combined personal injury experience, this is something that the attorneys at Gama Law Firm do very well.
Example of How Medical Bills Get Taken Care of In a Typical Personal Injury Case:
John gets injured in an accident caused by someone else.
Johnâs medical care includes an ambulance trip, a hospital visit, several doctor visits, two months of physical therapy, and a spine injection by a pain management doctor to help manage the pain.
John submits all of his bills to his health insurance company. The spine injection is the only service that is not covered by his health insurance, but Johnâs attorney gets that doctor to agree to wait for the settlement to get paid back.
After six months of care, John is discharged by his doctors.
John’s attorney prepares a settlement package asking for compensation for the FULL amount of the medical bills .
Does Car Insurance Or Health Insurance Pay For Injuries First
Car insurance pays for auto accident injuries first. Which car insurance policy pays first, either the accident victim or the at-fault driver, depends on whether the accident occurred in an at-fault or no-fault state. In at-fault states like Colorado or Georgia, injury treatment is first paid by the at-fault drivers insurance policy. In no-fault states like Kentucky and Florida, medical expenses are paid by the victims PIP or MedPay insurance first, regardless of which driver was at fault.
If youve been injured in a car crash in a no-fault state, youll be required to fill out a PIP or MedPay application sent to you by your auto insurance company. This process will automatically direct payment to your medical providers until youve reached your coverage limits . Once these coverages are exhausted, your medical bills are sent to your secondary provider, which is likely your health insurance company.
You will be responsible for your typical deductible and copay throughout treatment, but your health insurance company can forward the remainder of your medical bills directly to the at-fault drivers auto insurance company for reimbursement. Similarly, you may be able to file a personal injury claim to seek reimbursement for your medical costs, which providers can recoup via a medical lien. Take a look at how exactly medical bills come out of your settlement here.
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Medicaid Medicare And Veterans Benefits Programs
If your insurance is under a Medicaid, Medicare or Veterans Benefits program, your health insurer will be entitled to reimbursement from your settlement for benefits they have paid. They may reduce what you owe by providing you with a credit for any attorneys fees or expenses that you incurred in reaching your settlement.
Get Legal Help After A Car Accident In South Carolina
If you were injured in an auto accident in the Columbia area, you should contact the Law Office of Kenneth Berger for a free consultation. A car accident lawyer can help injured people after an accident by handling the crash investigation, negotiating your insurance claims, and representing you in any lawsuits that you need to claim a full and fair recovery.
The attorneys at the Law Office of Kenneth E. Berger have years of experience handling cases like yours, and would be honored to help you and your family with the legal recovery process while you focus on healing. Our offices are conveniently located in Columbia and Myrtle Beach, and we proudly serve the Sumter and Florence areas, as well as the entire state of South Carolina. Call us today at 803-790-2800 / 843-427-2800 , or start a 24/7 with a real, live person to arrange a free and confidential consultation.
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Does Health Insurance Cover Car Accident Injuries
The last thing any motorist wants is to be in a car accident. The resulting physical pain and damage to property means youre going to have to deal with auto insurance carriers. This includes your own, as well as the company of the other person involved. In Texas, all drivers are required to carry liability insurance to pay for car repairs and medical expenses when found to be at fault. But does health insurance cover car accident injuries?
Your liability insurance will typically not cover all the injuries youve sustained. To pay for medical expenses, you have options: if the other person is at fault, their liability insurance should cover you. Or, you may be able to use your health insurance to cover the cost of your injuries.
Will My Health Insurance Cover Car Accidents
Some health insurance plans cover car accidents, while other plans specifically do not cover car accidents.
Generally, your car insurance policy will function as your primary health coverage after a car accident. Your medical insurance, meanwhile, will be your secondary coverage. That means your car insurance policy will cover medical expenses up to the limits of your policy, and then your medical insurance can cover any remaining expenses.
You can present your medical insurance to the hospital when seeking treatment for a car accident. However, you should check your policy to make sure it covers car accidents.
You may be able to adjust your insurance policies to designate your health insurance as the primary source of medical coverage after a car accident.
If youre unsatisfied with your car insurance health insurance coverage limits, then you may want to adjust your insurance coverage to make your health insurance your primary source of coverage after an accident.
If you do choose to use your ordinary medical insurance to cover car accident-related injuries, then all of your same deductibles and co-payments apply.
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Is Pip A Replacement For Health Insurance
Personal Injury Protection, or PIP, is a mandatory part of your car insurance in the 12 states that have no-fault insurance laws. All this means is that your own insurance, not the other partys is responsible for your medical costs. In these states, your PIP is your primary insurer, and they will pay out your claims before health insurance kicks in. As with regular insurance, it will pay until your limit is reached, and then health insurance will kick in.
Know What Your Insurance Plan Covers
To best know which form of insurance will cover what, carefully review both your auto and your health insurance policies. This can help provide basic background information regarding the question, Does health insurance cover car accident injuries? Certain health insurance carriers classify auto accident injuries as secondary coverage. These policies wont cover your medical expenses until the auto insurance limit has been met.
In Texas, if you are found to be at fault in an auto accident, it is your responsibility to pay for property and bodily damage to the other party.
Texas current minimum liability insurance is known as 30/60/25 coverage. This limits payments to $30,000 for each injured person, totaling $60,000 per accident and $25,000 to cover property damage to the other party. While this may seem like a good amount of money, it may not be nearly enough depending on the severity of your injuries.
To illustrate, say you suffer the misfortune of a traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury $30,000 wont cover the cost of rehabilitation for one month, let alone a lifetime. Its a smart idea to include Personal Injury Protection or medical payments coverage to your policy. This can help offset potential costs associated with a wreck.
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How Health Insurance Works After A Car Accident
Generally, health insurance companies only have financial responsibility for car accident injury treatment if all other forms of coverage, like auto insurance, have been exhausted or are unavailable. In the state of West Virginia, drivers can choose to add Medical Payments coverage to their auto insurance policy for an additional layer of car accident injury treatment protection.
Medical Payment or MedPay is an optional auto insurance coverage that can help pay for hospital and doctor visits after a crash. MedPay works similarly to Personal Injury Protection in that it will cover your medical bills regardless of who was at fault for the accident. West Virginia law does not require MedPay coverage however, it can help if the at-fault driver has minimal injury coverage.
If you do not have MedPay coverage in your auto insurance policy, you may use your health insurance for any remaining medical bills. Your health insurance will follow the same protocol for a primary doctors visit. It will still require you to pay your typical deductible or copay for car accident injury treatment.
More significant expenses, like ambulance fees, often do not require immediate payment from car accident victims. Hospitals may treat you on a lien basis, which means they will provide the necessary treatment and request reimbursement from the insurance company after. Some hospitals may request repayment only once youve received compensation from the at-fault partys insurance.
Who Pays Medical Bills After A Car Accident In New York
When you sustain serious injuries in a collision with another motorist, the first thing you may wonder is “who pays medical bills in a car accident?” Considering that you likely have medical expenses to pay and have missed time from work, itâs certainly a legitimate question.
Itâs also one that doesnât always have straightforward answers. Who pays medical bills after a car accident depends on many factors, including whether your injuries are significant enough to meet New Yorkâs serious injury threshold and therefore bypass its no-fault system.
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I Am Still Experiencing Pain And Need More Medical Treatment To Heal Will The Insurance Company Pay More If They Already Paid
This depends on whether additional insurance is available or whether the case has been completely resolved. In some instances, there may be other insurance money to claim under another policy, or the insurance may have paid, but your attorney has also filed a lawsuit against another party on your behalf. But, if your case has been completely resolved, by law, you are more than likely prohibited from asserting another claim for the same injuries if you signed a release for the settlement of your claim. This is why it is extremely important to continue your recommended course of treatment and let your providers and case managers know if you are still experiencing pain before your case resolves.
Why Medical Bills From Your Car Accident Should Be Submitted To Your Group Health Insurance
“The bottom line is to submit the medical bills from your car accident case to your group health insurance carriers for immediate payment.”
If you think you have a personal injury case resulting from a recent car accident, please contact the car accident injury attorneys at Lipkin& Apter. We will work quickly and responsively to address your situation. There is no cost to you for a consultation with us.
You’re Involved in a Car Accident. Fortunately you have Insurance
Youre involved in a car accident caused by another drivers negligence. Your leg is broken. You need surgery. Five days later you are discharged from the hospital. In a couple of weeks you begin physical therapy to increase the strength and range of motion in your leg. Therapy lasts four months. The medical bills start coming in, and you cant believe how much they are: $78,000.00. Fortunately, you have health insurance benefits through your employer. You also have medical payments coverage from your own car insurance policy. But primarily you are thinking that since the car accident was caused by the other drivers negligence, HIS insurance ought to pay your medical bills as they come in. Worse yet, you begin to receive collection letters seeking payment of your medical bills. What should you do?
The Bills are Your Responsibility
Submit Your Bills to Your Health Carrier
Common Fund Doctrine
Worst Case Scenario – Leave Your Bills Unpaid
The Bottom Line: Submit Your Medical Bills for Payment
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What Happens When You Receive Payment From The Negligent Party
If you submit your medical bills to your health insurance immediately, in many cases the insurance company will ask whether or not the bills related to any kind of an accident. Eventually, if the negligent party compensates you for your medical bills, they will generally reimburse the full amount of your medical bills.
In many cases, the amount you receive from the negligent party is more than what your private health insurance company paid for your medical bills. Victims often have the ability to keep the difference in compensation. Consider visiting with our experienced personal injury attorneys at Tyroler Injury Law to learn more about your legal rights and how much compensation you deserve for your car accident.
Who Pays First Auto Insurance Or Health Insurance
Car insurance typically pays for treatment of car accident injuries until the available coverage limits are exhausted, and then your health insurance usually kicks in to pay for what’s left.
As we touched on above, the “primary” or “secondary” question might be answered by the fine print of the different policies in place. If, for whatever reason, your health insurance coverage paid your medical bills first, the health insurer will turn around and make a claim against the car insurance company that insures the at-fault driver.
So, what kinds of car insurance might cover your car accident injuries? The two main options at the outset of a car accident claim are:
- Your own personal injury protection or medical payments car insurance coverage can be used to pay the medical bills that come in as your car accident injuries are being treated. This coverage typically pays out pretty quickly, and while PIP may require you to pay a deductible, MedPay coverage rarely does.
- The other driver’s liability car insurance isn’t usually an option for paying your medical bills as they come in. This insurance will cover your injuries, but any claim or settlement acts as more of a reimbursement.
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Will My Health Insurance Cover Car Accident Injuries
After a car accident, getting medical care should be your number one priority.
However, in some cases paying for your medical care can potentially become a tricky issue. An example of such factors is having multiple different insurance policies in place.
Car accident victims are often unsure which insurance coverage to use in order to pay their various health care costs.
You might not even know if your health insurance covers injuries from car accidents.
The amount of responsibility an insurance carrier has will depend on several factors. Deductibles on relevant policies, the negligent party, and the types of insurance coverage will determine which policy to use.
Most health insurance policies cover car accident injury bills. However, this is only to a certain extent.
Your health insurance usually isnt the first policy that comes into play.
In the article below, well take a closer look at some critical issues related to health insurance and car accident injuries.
Its All About You We Want To Help You Make The Right Coverage Choices
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- Health insurance companies cannot deny claims related to auto accidents
- Auto insurance companies can deny claims if youre at fault
- Health insurance steps in when auto insurance stops paying for claims
Car accidents can be scary. On top of dealing with the injury itself, youll also have to think about filing an insurance claim. The last thing you want to worry about is the medical expenses associated with the accident and whether your insurance will cover your treatment. The good news is that car insurance and health insurance dont cancel each other out after a car crash, but instead work together.
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